Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-04-07
HElGH.HO
A Common Carrier can Give Special
Rates Within a State or Territory,

no'os Withlu State OF territory.
Judge Deadly, of the United States
Circuit Court for the District of Ore
| gon, has rendered the first decision
under the Interstate Commerce law.
1t occupies l ! columns of small type
in the Oregonian, and is too lengthy
for reproduction in full, but this is tue
gist OF it:
The questions involved in this en-
curry arise on the first section of the
act. Taking its several clauses to.
gether, my impression is that no car
rier Is within its operation unless he
is engaged in Inter State Commerce
by means of a railway or railway and
water craft under one "control, man.
agement or arrangement" and that
by such means or instrumentalities he
does actually and continuously carry
goods from within to without the State
or from without to within the same.
tie may form a link in line of Inter-
State Commerce, but if his relation to
such commerce or interest in or liabil-
ity for the carriage thereof, does not
extend beyond the line of the State,
he is not within the act.
The receiver is therefore instructed
that he is at liberty, so far as the act
is concerned, to make special rates for
the carriage of goods from or to points
on the line Of his road for the purpose
of obtaining or retaining business
therefor, against other carriers COM
peting for the same. But this direc,
ton does not apply to goods shipped
directly to or from foreign country
over the line of the o. & C. road
The decision was called forth by
the petition of the receiver of the Or
egon & California Railway. The road
is 400 miles long, wholly in Oregon.
1t is carrying wheat and other agri-
cultural products of Oregon destined
for San Francisco, from certain points
along the O. & G. road, where there is
competition with the Oregon Pacific
Railway Company at special and
lower rates than if destined for Port
land only; that such products are
taken from Portland to San Francisco
at special rate on the steamers of
the Oregon Railway & Navigation
Company; that said steamers also
carry goods at special rates on their
return trips from San Francisco to
Portland, destined to the points afore-
said along the line of the 0. & G. road,
consisting of the products of Cali
fornia, China, the Hawaiian Islands
and the Central and South American
States, which goods are carried from
Portland on the o. & G. road to the
places of their destination, at special
and lower rates than those charged
for goods shipped from Portland fo'
other and non-competing points or
said road; that the Oregon Pacific
Railway Company is operating line
of railway from Albany and Yaquina
Bay, Oregon, in conjunction with a
line of steamers between the latter
place and San Francisco, and is avow
eddy carrying and offering to carry
freight to and from San Francisco
and portions of the country traversec
by the road of the o. & G. Company
at cost, and that unless the receiver i.
allowed to make a special rate fol
freight between the points on the O
& G. road subject to this competition
and San Francisco, said road will no
be able to retain its share of this bust
; ness; and that although the 0. r.
N. Company and the receiver of thu
o. & G. road, in making special rate
as aforesaid, purpose to obtain, eacl
for itself, the carriage of goods whicl
otherwise they might lose, yet Their
' is no agreement or guarantee between
them on the subject, nor is sue
freight ever shipped on through bill
of lading, or the one party in an
! way liable for the default OF miscar
rage of the other in respect thereto
: but each for itself carries the sam
over it's own route--it being repre-
sented to and understood by the shil
pers that if they send such goods b
these lines of transportation they wi
be carried over each at Gel
= tain reduced rate, and that tt
: o. & c. road and the 0. r. & I
steamers "are not under any 'commo
y control, management or arrangement
y in any Manner" unless the facts her
q in stated make them so, and on tn
point the receiver prayed the advi'
7. and direction of the court
u TTt caamS RI uS &C If this declS'f